Tech Firm Clicks With Former Video Game Space

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REOTrans LLC, a growing technology company that provides services to financial institutions selling foreclosed homes, has signed a 49,570-square-foot sublease in Westchester.


It will move into its new headquarters in the Howard Hughes Center at the end of the month. REOTrans is leaving 5155 W. Rosecrans Ave. in Hawthorne, where it had little room to expand, said REOTrans Chief Executive Chris Saitta.

The company took eight months to find suitable offices. It was looking for space near the intersection of the San Diego (405) Freeway and the Harbor (110) Freeway. The 18-month sublease is with video game developer Activision Blizzard Inc. of Santa Monica. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“It’s a furnished sublease and everything that was left behind was designed perfectly for our needs,” said Saitta, adding that he’d like the company to stay once the sublease expires.

Matthew Miller of brokerage CresaPartners LLC, who represented Activision Blizzard, said his client vacated the space at 6060 Center Drive earlier this year after it had become “redundant” with the 2007 merger that created the video game company. He said it was a challenge to find a tenant needing such a large block of space.

REOTrans fit the bill because of the historically high number of houses in foreclosure. Once foreclosed homes fail to sell at auction, they are labeled as REOs, which stands for “real estate owned.” However, institutions still try to sell those properties, using the services of companies such as REOTrans.

REOTrans will occupy floors five and six of the building, owned by Equity Office, a unit of New York-based private equity company Blackstone Group LP.

Brian Davies of CresaPartners also represented Activision Blizzard. Colliers International’s Randall Woods and Greg Tuszynski represented REOTrans.


Big Lease

North Los Angeles County Regional Center has signed a 10-year lease renewal to keep its offices at 15400 Sherman Way in Van Nuys. The 70,358-square-foot deal is valued at $19 million and is one of the largest leases signed in the San Fernando Valley this year.

The deal with landlord Embarcadero Capital Partners LLC of Belmont closed June 1.

The regional center is a non-profit, state-funded organization that provides a variety of services and support to individuals with developmental disabilities. The organization is the largest tenant at Embarcadero’s two-building, 265,000-square-foot office center. With the deal, the Sherman Way property is 95 percent leased, said Mark Riches, director of leasing in Southern California for Embarcadero, an office investment and management firm.

“They were obviously a high priority for us to retain, not only from a business standpoint. We truly believe in the services they provide to the public and wanted to ensure these valuable services were kept in the building,” said Riches, who represented his company in-house on the deal.

The center is one of 21 in California and is funded by the California Department of Developmental Services. The office space is used to house case workers, among other staff members.

Brian Davies of CresaPartners who represented the non-profit, said that because banks and financial services companies such as Washington Mutual and Countrywide have merged with other companies, there is a great deal of available space in the San Fernando Valley, which prompted the landlord to offer a more competitive lease rate.

The monthly lease rate starts at a bit more than $2 per square foot, on a full-service gross basis, and escalates every 24 months. The lease will start Oct. 15.


Koreatown Sale

A 36-unit apartment building at 3350 San Marino St. in Koreatown has traded hands for $2.4 million. L.A. real estate investment and brokerage company Hogan Group Inc. and partners purchased the building from West L.A. real estate investment company Innovative Real Estate.

The sale of building, which is protected by L.A.’s rent control ordinance, breaks down to $66,667 per unit.

Brent Hogan, president of Hogan, said that he will completely renovate the 22,376-square-foot building, which was constructed in 1924. He plans to spend about $7,500 per unit, calling the property a “long-term hold.”

Jeff Lloyd of Horizon Realty represented both sides of the April deal. Innovative did not return calls seeking comment.


Staff reporter Daniel Miller can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.

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